Broken Dawn
by Dayanara Ryelle
Summary: While the men are out, the ladies take over. Rebecca Snape tries to fit into her father's shoes while dealing with her hidden past and a new professor.
1. The Reception

Author's Note: This story takes place shortly after book 4. Sirius has been laying in wait with Mundungus Fletcher over the summer. Snape has left the school for the time being, so the potions position lies open. The school year begins with Dumbledore away at many conferences, so Professor McGonagall has taken her usual position as Deputy Headmistress.  
There was a crowd of people waiting on the steps of the school for something unknown. The train had left an hour earlier than usual, so dinner was not quite ready. However, the students of Hogwarts stood there in a half silence with the professors keeping a careful eye on them. A half hour had passed, before a small group appeared on the path from Hogsmeade. It was the governors of the school, chattering merrily away and ignoring the couple leading them. In front of the pack was Lucius Malfoy and his wife Narcissa, holding hands as they trudged along the path. The Malfoys obviously despised having to walk to the school, much less having the governors behind them. However, the group behind them took no notice of the walk, seemingly as happy as ever. Professor McGonagall moved out of her place in the back of the pack and came down the steps to meet everyone.  
  
"Good evening Lucius, Narcissa," she said bitterly. "So glad you could join us."  
  
"Not a problem darling," Narcissa cooed. "We just couldn't wait for this moment, could we, sweetheart?"  
  
"Certainly not," Lucius readily agreed.  
  
They moved aside for the oncoming governors. The group would form a receiving line up to the steps, where the guest would enter. Professor McGonagall managed a smile as she greeted each one. The group calmed down and worked their way into silence. Looking over her shoulder, Professor McGonagall looked at Professor Trelawny.  
  
"Is everyone here, Sybil?"  
  
"They appear to be, my dear. Lucius and Narcissa came first. Moreover, all the governors are here. Evelyn, Edward, Sierra, Steven, Marilyn, Michael, Clarissa, Christopher, Angela, Anthony, David and Dido. That's everyone, Minerva."  
  
Everyone snapped to attention when the next group appeared on the road. A well-dressed man walked at the head of a pack of armed slaves. Six men carried a litter with its curtains drawn, while about 20 pages hurried along behind. They drew as close as possible to the receiving line before stopping. The waiting group could see that the litter was all a-flutter with blue silks, bells tinkling gently in the evening breeze and sandalwood smoke snaked its way out of the curtains from a censer hung inside.  
  
"Way, way for Belisama, Princess of Darkness!"  
  
This was going to be a long night. 


	2. It Begins

"My name is Rebecca Belladonna Snape and I will be your potions professor while my father is gone. I suppose you would like to hear a little of my history?"  
  
"Yes please," the class chorused.  
  
"Very well," said she, and set to pacing the room.  
  
"I was dual enrolled for my education, something that is not uncommon amongst American Muggles, in Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, taking my residence in the former. Upon graduation, I moved to America for a short period of time, where I continued my education. There, the Muggles have a religious order of Witches and Wizards called Wicca. Don't let anyone fool you," she remarked, turning to the class sharply. "Some of those Muggles who call themselves Wiccan are pretty talented and the theory goes that they were meant to be an integral part of this order and that is why they never received their letter."  
  
Continuing her pacing, she recommenced. "I was initiated to their highest level, something they called Third Degree and became an adept. Much like you Miss Granger," Rebecca said with a pointed look.  
  
Hermione blushed and the professor persisted. "I became a High Priestess and an expert at their version of the Dark Arts, something I carefully hid. They all knew me as Belisama, but it was my followers who gave me the title of Princess of Darkness." She paused, rolling up her sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark. "And I wouldn't wonder."  
  
Rolling her sleeve back down, Rebecca looked straight at Parvati. "Miss Patil, you seem to have an interesting, if not divine, name. Could you perhaps tell me who Belisama is?"  
  
"I - I don't know," she faltered.  
  
"You, Miss Brown?"  
  
"I don't know either," Lavender admitted.  
  
The professor looked straight at Hermione. "Surely you know, Miss Granger?"  
  
"I'll give it a shot," said Hermione, shrugging. "Wasn't she a Celtic fire Goddess?"  
  
"Very good, Miss Granger. 20 points to Gryffindor." Rebecca resumed her pacing. "As for the less important matters, I was a Prefect and later Head Girl at Beauxbatons. I was also a Chaser and captain of my house's Quidditch team. Any questions?" 


	3. Before We Continue:

A Word of Warning  
  
Everything you don't recognize is probably mine. Everything you do recognize is probably J.K Rowling's. If by some odd chance you are Ms. Rowling or are a staff member for Scholastic or Warner Brothers, no fair suing because I covered my butt with the above.  
  
Please enjoy, otherwise. 


	4. Which Witch is Which?

"I knew you didn't need help," Rebecca muttered darkly. "Don't know why I let you convince me. Just get on with it!"  
  
"What are Wiccans and how can Muggles be wizards and Witches?"  
  
"One question at a time, Sherlock," Rebecca mumbled. "I thought you paid attention in class, Granger? This is very unlike you."  
  
"I just want to know how they can do magic and still be Muggles, Professor."  
  
"Let me put this in terms even you will understand, Hermione. While magick is our nature, Wiccans have to commune with nature to make that very same magick."  
  
"I think I understand."  
  
"Wiccans can't get by with a wand, a few chosen words and practice, like we can. Well they can, but the result isn't instantaneous like ours is. And they don't exactly have places like Hogwarts to learn these things. They tend to use herbs, candles and oils to get the job done, as well as a myriad of tools."  
  
Rebecca stood up and walked over to a grand cabinet that sat in one corner. Removing a chain from her neck, she unlocked the doors with a tiny key and threw them open to reveal what was inside. The first things she sat on her desk were two statues. One was a woman that bore some resemblance to a Veela, wearing long, silver robes. The other was a centaur as the Americans might see them (totally clean shaven from the torso up) and who wore sunglasses.  
  
"Who are they?"  
  
"The Goddess and God of Wicca in two of Their many forms," Rebecca replied, smiling benevolently at the two moving figures. "The Lady is Gaia, and earth Goddess and The Lord is Cerunnos (or Cernunnos, as He is more commonly called), a Celtic father God. If a Wiccan has not found the appropriate figures or cannot afford them (as someone your age might), s/he might burn a candle in one of Their colors instead, such as silver for the Goddess and gold for the God, as They represent the moon and sun respectively."  
  
She took the figures away and brought out four pillar candles, one each in green, white, red and blue.  
  
"The elements?"  
  
Rebecca nodded. "There are temple lamps to bring the majority of the light, usually two on the altar or four hanging from the walls. Wiccans like to remind themselves that they're constantly communing with nature, however. Therefore, a dish of earth or a green candle would be placed in the north or on the northern part of the altar. A single feather, a fan (with or without feathers), a yellow or white candle would be placed in the east or on the eastern part of the altar. A red candle for fire would be placed in the south or on the southern part of the altar and a glass or bowl of water or a blue candle would be placed in the west or on the western part of the altar.  
  
The candles went back in and out came a black-hilted dagger and an elegant cup made of gold and silver.  
  
"I don't know," shrugged Hermione.  
  
"The athame or black-handled knife is used for casting circles (you can figure that one out yourself) and calling upon certain spirits. A sword is used when an athame is needed on a larger scale, I have a katana. Related to the athame is the bolline or white-handled knife which is used for cutting and craft work, I use a metal-handled paring knife. The chalice is used for the cakes and wine ceremony and to do the symbolic Great Rite (both of which I'll let you figure out, as well)."  
  
Next, she exchanged the athame and chalice for a crystal ball, a wand, a flute, a cauldron and a star on a plate.  
  
"I can guess some of them," Hermione ventured.  
  
"Wiccans use many of the same divination methods we do, hence the crystal ball. The wand is used for calling up spirits with whom it is unwise to meet with your athame in hand and a staff can be used in place of the wand on a larger scale. Mine is a three foot bamboo pole than has been decorated with ribbons, bells, feathers and little trinkets. In the Tradition I was initiated into, the flute was kept on the altar to be played to raise energy, which powers the spell along. The cauldron is used for pretty much the same things we use it for and this star with a circle around it is called a pentacle, which has been placed on this disk, called a paten. The pentacle paten is decorated according to your Tradition and is kept on the altar for the three Cs, cleansing, consecrating and charging."  
  
As Rebecca put the last of the things away, she turned back to Hermione. "The only things I haven't mentioned are the broom, the censer and the scourge."  
  
"Wiccans have brooms?!"  
  
"The broom, which is also called a besom, is used to cleanse the sacred space (another thing for you to research), both in the mundane and the astral (there's another one.I know how you love the library, Hermione). The censer, also called a thurible, may be a metal, covered pot hanging from a chain (like in the Muggle churches) or just a simple wooden or clay holder that will hold a stick of incense, sometimes called a joss stick. At any rate, the censer is not only carried around the room to purify the space, but is left burning to set the atmosphere. Very few Traditions still use the scourge, also known as a cat-o-nine-tails (because is has nine cords attached to the handle, which bear nine knots each), which is used for purification of the body."  
  
Hermione grimaced. "Ritualistic beating sounds so heathen. Do you have one?"  
  
Rebecca nodded unhappily. "I was sent to a Gardnarian (look that one up) for a long period of heavy trancework and after he used it on me, it was presented to me in homage to my rank."  
  
With a sigh, Rebecca made a shooing motion. "Go chew on that, Miss Granger." 


	5. A Struggle

Scourging is commonplace in the Gardnarian and Alexandrian Traditions. Witches are scourged a total of forty times for the First and Second Degree initiations and twice for the Third. The High Priest or Priestess suffers more than the neophyte during the conferrance of the Second Degree, enduring one hundred and twenty strokes at the hand of the neophyte.  
  
"For learn, in Witchcraft you must ever give as you receive, but ever triple. So where I gave thee three, return nine; Where I gave seven, return twenty one; Where I gave nine, return twenty seven; Where I gave twenty one, return sixty three.  
  
-From the Second Degree initiation in the Gardnarian/Alexandrian book The Witches' Way  
  
The person receiving the scourging would have their knees and ankles tied and would have been blindfolded as well. The hands would be bound in an over-the-shoulder cable tow fashion, so that the neophyte might be tied by their tow line to a ring in front of the altar, as per tradition. The scourge is handed over with a ritualistic kiss and a bell is rung three times by the assistant, before they call out the number which proceeds the scourging. The scourge is also considered a ritual tool among the aforementioned Traditions, equal in its place to such tools as the athame and wand. The scourge is also widely used in heavy trancework. The witch trying to get into the trance might be bound in much the same fashion as a neophyte, but perhaps tied in more places, as the point of being restrained is to retard the flow of blood and induce a trance. In trancework, the person doing the scourging has no assistant, bells are not rung and there is no ritualistic kissing. The witch receiving the scourging is also not blindfolded because the sight of the scourge is supposed to spark the imagination (and the blindfold is also symbolic of rebirth during initiation). The conditions for this heavy trancework are much harder than the conditions for the initiation, as the witch has been likely fasting and kept in as much isolation as possible for three or more days before the work begins.  
  
"Scourges should be outlawed," Hermione said, quite suddenly.  
  
Ron leaned over and, catching sigh of the passage from The Witches' Way said, "Ritualistic beating? Sounds like something Snape or Filch would enjoy."  
  
"You aren't going to make W.W.A.U.S., are you, Hermione?" Harry questioned.  
  
"Wow-wows?" Ron echoed.  
  
"I'm guessing Harry means 'Witches and Wizards Against the Usage of Scourges'," said Hermione thoughtfully. "Which isn't a bad idea."  
  
"Not again!" Ron groaned.  
  
"This one is flawed, too. The house elves liked the way they were treated and people liked having things done for them," said Harry. "But most people don't know about the ritualistic practices of Wiccans, much less what a scourge actually is."  
  
"Lady Snape has one."  
  
"Boo for her," muttered Ron. "Wait a second. Did you just call Professor Snape's daughter 'Lady Snape'?"  
  
"It befits her rank," Hermione said with a shrug. "The High Priestess and High Priest are traditionally called 'Lady' and 'Lord' in Wiccan company as a sign of respect and as a sign of their rank."  
  
"Why does Lady Snape have a scourge?" Harry asked, "She seems like the type of person to disapprove of such things."  
  
"You can't forget that she's a Death Eater," Ron added.  
  
"With all the time she's spent in America, I doubt she's had much of a chance to keep up with their doings," responded Harry.  
  
"Back to the topic at hand!" Hermione blasted. "She has the scourge because it was made specifically to be used for her trancework period and then it was presented to her by her teacher in honor of her rank."  
  
"So, what's the point?" Ron asked.  
  
"My point is, I think there's something wrong with Lady Snape!" 


	6. In the Bathroom

"Rebecca, you look ridiculous!"  
  
Rebecca turned from the mirror to see Stephani Sinistra behind her. Rebecca wore a white tuxedo shirt tucked into white biker shorts, over which she wore white tails and a black bow tie. To top off the look, she wore white high-heeled cowboy boots and tan nylons. Her makeup consisted of black lipstick, burgundy blush and a combination of black and silver eye shadow, while her hair had been cornrowed.  
  
"I do not, Steph! You're just plain, compared to me."  
  
It was true. Stephani had opted for black pants, black socks, black high- tops and a simple black t-shirt that had a white mask and a red rose on the front. Today was the field trip to London to see "The Phantom of the Opera" at Her Majesty's Theatre and the two of them had been put in charge of the twenty-some kids that were going.  
  
"You decided to look like a teenager because you're hoping Brad will notice you!"  
  
"I didn't hear Minerva asking you to meet the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher after his performance. You're just jealous!"  
  
"Am not!"  
  
"Are too!"  
  
"Am not!"  
  
"Are too!"  
  
"Ladies, ladies! What is the meaning of all this?"  
  
Conveniently, Minerva McGonagall had walked in during their fight. She could be worse than Mrs. Norris sometimes, with her uncanny ability to appear at just the right moment.  
  
"Stephani was just telling me how jealous she is that you asked me to meet Professor Rockford after the show."  
  
"I was not!"  
  
"Were too!"  
  
"Was not!"  
  
"Were too!"  
  
"That's enough, girls!" Minerva said sharply. "Rebecca, finish what you're doing. Stephani, hurry and go change your clothes so you look like Rebecca. Then the both of you better get to the front gates, so you can supervise the use of the portkeys. Off you go, now!"  
  
Stephani couldn't resist sticking her tongue out at Rebecca on her way out. 


	7. North by Northwest

"How're the kids on your end?"  
  
"Well enough. I've got Harry Potter and his bunch, but that's about it."  
  
The two professors decided it would be best to sit on opposite ends of the line, so that they could easily keep track of everyone. Stephani sat on the left with Harry, Ron and Hermione, while Rebecca didn't have anyone recognizable on the right. They had spelled some studs (silver for Rebecca, gold for Stephani) for easier communication, figuring that no one would notice, with all the talking going on around them.  
  
"We look like hos!"  
  
"Bordello babes from outer space!" Rebecca agreed.  
  
They looked down the row at each other and laughed. Rebecca had done a good job in selecting clothes, as they looked like two punks with some kids' playgroup and not like two fairly straight-laced professors from a school of higher education.  
  
"Are you going to change into something decent later? Please say you will," Stephani begged.  
  
"I probably will," Rebecca promised. "I have a t-shirt like the one you were wearing, black capris and black sandals that will go together nicely."  
  
Just then, Rebecca noticed an usher motioning to her from the end of their row.  
  
"Cover me."  
  
Walking quickly to the aisle, Rebecca soon caught up with him.  
  
"Are you Miss Snape?"  
  
"I am," she said tersely. "What of it?"  
  
"Call from the Company."  
  
Rebecca reached up and took off one of her earring before accepting the cell phone from him. No sense in letting Stephani eavesdrop.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Lady Snape?"  
  
"That would be me."  
  
"It's Brad. The new Dark Arts professor?"  
  
"Ah, yes. How lovely to hear from you, Mr. Rockford."  
  
"Call me Brad."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Where are you now?"  
  
"I was in my seat, looking after the kids. Now I'm standing in the right- hand aisle next to an usher with everyone looking at me funny." Her voice grew hard. "Look Brad. Don't delay the show because of me."  
  
~*~  
  
It was chilly outside and all Rebecca had on over her shirt was a black shawl. There was a slight wind, making it harder for her to wait patiently for Brad to open the stage door. He had promised before they hung up that she wouldn't have to knock. Rebecca was more than relieved when he finally opened the door, still in full costume, no less.  
  
"Come in, my darling."  
  
She gratefully went inside at his beckoning, thanking him for holding the door open for her on her way through. After closing the door behind her, Brad led the way down the hall to his dressing room. He made her quite comfortable, especially when he showed her to his favorite chair, while he sat down in front of the vanity.  
  
"Sorry for making you wait. The director called a post-show meeting and seemed intent on making me the focus. I had a hard time escaping."  
  
"That's ok," she lied. Rebecca wondered at that moment if he was going to be like that other blow-hard professor her father had told her about. 


End file.
